Light weight transmission lines and antenna systems are useful in many widely-varied applications. For example, lightweight lines and antennas may be used in an RF-based remote sensing application where objects or signals are detected or imaged from a position that may be a significant distance away from those objects or signals. In some remote sensing systems, phased-array radar systems, which are well-known in the art, have been developed to generate images of distant objects by generating a radio frequency (RF) signal and by then detecting and processing the return signal after it has “bounced” off of the distant object.
Phased array radar systems are especially suited for use in remote sensing radar applications as compared to well-known dish or slotted array antennas. Contrary to dish or slotted array antennas, which rely on a physical antenna shape and antenna pointing direction to form and steer an RF beam, phased array antennas utilize interference between multiple radiating elements to achieve beam forming and beam steering. By electronically adjusting the excitation of each element, the combined radiation pattern can be scanned and shaped at high speed and with advanced capabilities. Such phased-array antennas are characterized by very high beam agility, i.e., the beam can be moved as quickly as electronic signals can be generated across specific antenna elements. Additionally, phased array antenna systems are capable of advanced beam forming, such as forming multiple beams with the elements of one antenna. This permits, for example, tracking several moving objects at one time. In an imaging application, a phased array antenna system can be used potentially to image multiple objects, each of which is in a different location. Finally, phased array antennas are also advantageous in that they are typically very reliable. This high reliability is in part due to the fact that typical phased array antennas have no moving parts. For these reasons, phased array antennas are advantageous in ground-based, airborne and space-based radar remote sensing systems.